Wildfire's Burden
by Opaque Vision
Summary: Talpa's back and Sage is angry at Ryo. How will he cope?


Hey everyone! I've been at it again, writing that is. Well, I'm starting to get writer's block with when I should place my stories so if any of you have any ideas about what time period in the series I should write a story, let me know cause I would love to get some ideas from all of you.  
  
This story takes place right after the Ronin Warriors find out that Talpa is still alive and that the White Armor of Inferno's power seeped into the Netherworld. Guess who the main characters are! Correct! Ryo, Mia, and Rowen. Do you sense a pattern yet? Hope you enjoy it!  
  
  
~~~~~  
  
Wildfire's Burden  
  
~~~~~  
  
Ryo shivered as he starred up at the gateway to the Netherworld. It wasn't possible, was it? The Ronin armors were meant to be used for good, but the power of the White Armor of Inferno had summoned a gateway to Talpa's dimension. And worse yet, Talpa was alive.  
  
Only when the gateway's image wavered and then vanished did Ryo return to his Armor of Wildfire. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't fair! They had been through so much already because of Talpa and now they had to go through it all over again? It wasn't right.   
  
~~~~~  
  
Rowen glanced over at Ryo and saw the sad look on his friend's face. Rowen dropped his head. Ryo had gone through so much because of Talpa, they all had and the creep had the nerve to come back. Well, they were gonna fight him til the bitter end. And it would be bitter...for all of them.  
  
He walked over to Ryo and laid a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder. Quietly lending Ryo his strength and confidence in him and his armor. He could feel the anger, confusion, and sadness radiating off his friend in currents. Rowen sighed, things just couldn't get any worse.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Mia starred in disbelief as the gateway faded into nothingness. It was like a horrible nightmare that you just couldn't wake up from, except this time it was real.  
  
"I knew this would happen. I knew and I didn't do anything about it!" Ryo whispered.  
  
Mia looked over at Ryo surprised. "What are you talking about Ryo? How could you have known? Have you seen Talpa before now?"  
  
"No, I hadn't seen him, but I just knew. I kept having these dreams that Talpa returned, but I thought that I was just being paranoid. I should have listened to my dreams, I should have known!"  
  
"Ryo, man, you can't blame yourself for everything. There are some things in this world that you can't help and you're just going to have to work on accepting that," Rowen said.  
  
"You mean that you had a feeling that Talpa was back, but you didn't tell us?! What kind of leader are you? What if Talpa had attacked when we weren't prepared? Do you know whose fault that would be? Yours, Ryo, it would be your fault!" Sage yelled as he approached Ryo. Sage walked up to Ryo and stopped right in front of him. He put his hand on Ryo's shoulder and pushed him back a little. "You have some nerve."  
  
"No, Sage, you have some nerve. It was a dream, how was Ryo to know it was going to come true. It's not like his dreams are prophecies. So why don't you just lay off of him, you jerk!" Rowen retorted to Sage.  
  
Ryo just stood there, trembling. His face was a portrait of pain and suffering. "I swear, guys, had I known I would have told you, but I thought it was only a stupid paranoid dream. I'm so sorry, so very sorry."  
  
Rowen watched as his friend sadly banished his armor for his normal clothes and sank down to the ground in shame. Rowen glared at Sage, who did he think he was? He had no right to talk to Ryo like that. Ryo had been through so much in his life already, he didn't need his friends telling him he was stupid and had made a horrible mistake.   
  
Mia kneeled down next to Ryo and gently put her arms around him. "I think we should all just go home, get some rest, and discuss this in the morning when you are all feeling better."  
  
Kento and Cye, who both hadn't said a word, turned quickly to head for the car that was parked a little ways away. Sage, with one final glare at Ryo, also turned to leave. Rowen stayed behind to help Ryo up, but he seemed to be in a daze and unwilling to move. Mia looked at Rowen with confusion in her eyes.   
  
Rowen knew that only one person could snap Ryo out of his daze and that was Mia, his Mia. The one that loved him and showed it openly, but to do that Rowen knew that they had to be alone.  
  
"He doesn't look like he's gonna be snapping out of it anytime soon and a car ride home with Sage and Ryo isn't something that would be pleasant or helpful to Ryo. Maybe one of us should stay with Ryo and get him home on foot," Rowen suggested, knowing fully well that Mia would volunteer to help Ryo back to the house.  
  
Mia looked up at Rowen. "You're right, why don't you go back with the guys and have a nice little talk with Sage about his behavior."  
  
"Can do, will you be ok with getting Ryo to the house?"  
  
"I'll manage, now go before the others start to get anxious," Mia said with a wave of her hand.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Rowen walked steadily back to the car though his heart was racing. He opened the passenger side door and got in the car. "Let's go," Rowen said curtly to Sage, who was driving.  
  
"What about Mia and Ryo?" Cye asked.  
  
"Ryo needs to cope with a few things first and someone needs to stay with him and since I needed to beat some sense into Sage, Mia decided to stay with Ryo," Rowen said, never once looking at Sage.  
  
"Beat some sense into me? Why? It's not like I didn't say anything that wasn't true. He should of told us, but instead he withheld valuable information!"  
  
"I'd have to agree with Rowen on this on, Sage. You were way out of line. Ryo has enough to deal with without you being a bastard to him," Kento stated.  
  
Rowen turned his head slightly and looked at Sage, "Don't even try to defend yourself, Sage. You just ripped a hole in Ryo's heart. He thought you were his friend and then you go and stab him in the back and accuse him of causing Talpa to return? Well, guess what?! If it hadn't been for Ryo Talpa never would have left in the first place, so get over your stupid little ego which is bruised by the fact that Ryo's stronger than you and start acting like a Ronin Warrior and a true friend."  
  
~~~~~  
  
Mia gazed into Ryo's glazed eyes. There was nothing in them. Only emptiness. She tightened her arms around him in effort to ward off Ryo's inner demons. But nothing seemed to stir him out of his silent reverie.   
  
Mia leaned forward until her lips were right next to his ear and softly whispered to him, "Ryo, my love, it's not your fault. You must not continue to blame yourself for all that goes wrong. Please, Ryo, talk to me."  
  
~~~~~  
  
Ryo blinked his eyes a couple of times. He thought he heard something. Could it be? Mia's voice? This place was so dark, no light, no hope, no happiness. Nothing but pain and suffering.   
  
It was all his fault. Sage had been right. He should have told them all, but he hadn't...why hadn't he? Had he been afraid of them calling him paranoid? Or maybe he thought that as long as he kept the information to himself then Talpa couldn't return. His thoughts strayed to Mia and how she had always stood beside him. He remembered the hurt look in her eyes when Sage had attacked him. She cared about him and he cared about her. And sometimes that's all that matters.  
  
He heard a faraway voice, echoing in his ears. The voice gently stirred him from his reverie and as his head cleared, he could feel a pair of arms around him. Cradling him, attempting to take away his pain. Mia. It had to be her. Because her arms were the only arms that could make him feel safe.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Ryo lifted his head and looked at Mia. As she starred into his eyes she breathed a sigh of relief. Though it might be difficult to get him to accept that Talpa's return was not his fault, he would be all right.  
  
But there was another look in his eyes, running side by side with his feelings of pain and love was an unfamiliar feeling. A dangerous one that was strangely seductive to Mia. It was as if there were flames dwelling behind his eyes. A fire was burning and neither wished to extinguish it.  
  
The more Mia looked into Ryo's fire filled eyes, the greater the flames grew in her own eyes. The fire grew and spread until it overtook them both and they were slaves to the passion they had kept so tight a control on for so long.  
  
~~~~~  
  
At some point Mia had ceased holding Ryo and they had risen until they were kneeling in front of the other. Ryo wrapped his arms around Mia's waist and pulled her into his body. Mia nuzzled into his neck and enjoyed the safe feeling she had when Ryo held her.  
  
Ryo leaned back and looked into her eyes. "Thank you for always being here for me, Mia. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you. I love you."  
  
Mia smiled at his words, "And without you I would have been dead a long time ago. You've done so much for me Ryo, I don't know and don't want to know what my life would be like without you in it. I love you, too."  
  
Ryo smiled and leaned down to join his lips with hers. What started as a soft kiss, quickly ignited into a passionate kiss that neither of them wished to stop. Ryo kept one arm wrapped around her waist, like a band of steel, holding her to him. Pressing her body to his. With his other hand he kneaded the back of her neck as they kissed.  
  
Mia's arms were around Ryo's neck. Her hands were in his hair, stroking and running her fingers through his jet black hair. A moan escaped the back of Mia's throat as Ryo deepened their kiss. With time the fire did not cease to burn as brightly as before, but they regained control of their passion and were simply content to tightly embrace the other.  
  
"A life without you is a life not worth living," Ryo whispered into Mia's hair as he gently kissed her head.  
  
"I know what you mean, Ryo, I know what you mean," Mia replied.  
  
~~~~~  
  
An hour later Mia and Ryo arrived back at the mansion. Mia had not told Ryo that Talpa's return had not been his fault, for she didn't need to. Her eyes and her love spoke to him without words and reassured him that he had done no wrong. And as Mia's eyes spoke to Ryo, Ryo's eyes spoke to her. And what she read in them now was not that he blamed himself for Talpa's return, but that he considered it his burden to exterminate Talpa once again. And this time for good.  
  
~~~~~  
  
The guys were waiting up for Mia and Ryo to arrive home. Sage had been outnumbered by the other three and thus was being forced to apologize to his leader for his unjustifiable behavior.  
  
Ryo opened the door and stepped to the side to allow Mia to pass through first, always the gentleman. When Ryo entered he walked straight over to Sage and looked him in the eye.   
  
"You were not completely in the wrong, Sage, I should have told you all about my dreams, but since I wanted them to mean nothing I figured I was just being paranoid and didn't feel like being made fun of," Ryo said as Sage starred evenly back at him.  
  
"I'm sorry, Ryo, I should not have attacked you like that. It was wrong of me to do so and I apologize," Sage held out his hand to Ryo. "What do you say we put this whole fiasco behind us?"  
  
Ryo looked at Sage's hand and smiled as he took hold of it. "With pleasure, my friend, with pleasure."  
  
~~~~~  
  
Later that night as they all headed up to their rooms to get some sleep, Rowen glanced at Mia and Ryo. He had been right. All Ryo had needed was some time with Mia to resolve his guilty feelings. The haunted look that had resided in Ryo's eyes earlier today was no longer there, but better yet was replaced by a relieved look.   
  
What Rowen couldn't see though was the newly laid burden in Ryo's eyes. Talpa must be defeated again and at almost any cost...even Ryo's life. For Ryo would sacrifice his own life to save the lives of his friends, the innocent people of the world, and for his one true love, Mia.  
  
Because when you are truly in love you will do anything, even lay down your own life, to protect that person. For that is the way that Mia and Ryo's love is. It runs so deeply within them that nothing is too much to do or to great a sacrifice for the one you love.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Rowen smiled as he feel asleep. Even though Talpa was alive and the world was once again threatened by his evil, Ryo had Mia and Mia had Ryo. And because of their love, they would never be made to feel true loneliness again as they had in the past.  
  
~~~~~End~~~~~  
  



End file.
